History, Opinions, Imaginings

It’s All that Kid’s Fault

Following up on Bob Jeter from last time…he was the lead for veteran Milwaukee Journal columnist Ollie Kuechle on the day after the lost 1960 championship game, and Ollie was not happy. Here’s the lead:

A boy lied to the Green Bay Packers at draft time a year ago and the lie echoed mildly through Monday’s championship football game at Philadelphia. The Boy was Bob Jeter of Iowa. For months before the annual draft last year, the Packers had their eyes on him. They wanted his speed. They talked to him by phone and visited him in Iowa City. Did he intend to play pro ball? The answer was, “indeed, yes.” Would he play with the Packers if they drafted him? The answer was, “Definitely, yes.”

Ollie goes on to point out that had the Packers not taken Jeter, they would have taken Wichita halfback Ted Dean who was selected by the Eagles “immediately behind Green Bay.” Actually, Dean was taken 23 slots later in the fourth round, but it is true that the Packers did not have any other picks in between.

Dean of course had a big day in the title game, leading the Eagles with 53 yards rushing, and returning a kickoff 59 yards to set up the game-winning touchdown, which he scored on a five-yard run. Dean’s promising career was derailed by an annual series of injuries that culminated with a career-ending car accident in 1964. He was out of the league before Bob Jeter was finally switched to the Packer secondary where he became a two-time All-Pro. Ultimately, the Packers made the right pick, but it took several years to determine.